WEIRD NEWS
Most Terrifying Statistic of the Day
Get ready to have your mind blown by the latest FBI statistic: If you murder someone in America, there's a nearly 40 percent chance you'll get away with it. Yep - and f you severely assault someone, there's a 50 percent chance. And if you commit any other crime, there's a good chance you'll get away with that, too. A new report by the Federal Bureu of Investigation shows the clearance rate for cases the FBI is trying to solve and the numbers are bad across the board. For murder, the clearance rate is 61.6 percent. For aggravated assault, it's 53.3 percent. For rape, 34.5 percent. For property crimes, it drops below 20 percent. In short, police aren't making arrests for the majority of crimes in this country. It gets worse. In some communities, the clearance rates are even lower. In some of the worst-off communities the clearance rate for murders and nonfatal shootings can fall all the way down to single digits. At least there's a bit of good news. The crime and murder rates fell in 2017, following two years of increases in violent crime and murder in particular. But the clearance rate numbers suggest that there is room for police to improve. In fact, the low clearance rates might be one thing that helps keep crime higher in the US than it would be otherwise. (Vox.com)
My Facebook Job Gave Me PTSD!
Because Facebook needs more problems, now a former Facebook employee is suing the company for allegedly giving her PTSD! Selena Scola says Facebook doesn't do enough to help its approximately 7,500 "content moderators" cope with the stress of being exposed to the worst the internet has to offer, including "child abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide, murder, and other forms of extreme violence," according to her lawsuit. Scola, who did the work for about eight months through a contractor, says that she has been formally diagnosed with the disorder, and that even touching a computer mouse or hearing a loud noise can trigger it. A Facebook spokesperson said, "We recognize that this work can often be difficult," adding that the company has helped set industry standards to protect those who do it. The problem is that Facebook "ignores" those standards and "affirmatively requires its content moderators to work under conditions known to cause and exacerbate psychological trauma," per the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status. While the lawsuit might sound far-fetched to anyone unfamiliar with the work, another former moderator says, "Someone could be being graphically beaten in a video, and you could have to watch it a dozen times, sometimes with others present, while you decide whether the victim's actions would count as self-defense or not, or whether the aggressor is the same person who posted the video." Then it's on to the next video. (Motherboard)
Gucci... Being Gucci
Hey Gucci's got a new swimsuit for you. The high-end one-piece features Gucci's iconic logo across the bust, cross-over straps, and has a vintage air to it that will surely turn heads at the pool. Of course all that designer glory doesn't come cheap. It'll set you back a cool $380 - oh, and there's one more thing - you can't swim in it. Yep, it's made of 80 percent nylon and 20 percent elastane, two materials that just don't get along with chlorine. Ironically, Gucci has been very upfront about the whole "swimsuit you can't swim in" thing and folks on social media have been having a field day at their expense. (Oddity Central)
Seriously Weird 5-Year-Old
Over in Vietnam, little 5-year-old Le Nguyen Bao Trung - known to his friends and family as "Bin" has a most puzzling condition. The very first words he ever spoke were in English despite never having come into contact with the language. Today, Bin speaks and reads perfectly in English, but is only just learning Vietnamese so he can communicate with his mother. Doctors have no answers and Bin's mother said she didn't speak any English and he didn't speak Vietnamese, so in the beginning all they had was sign language. Kindergarten was a tough experience, because Bin didn't understand Vietnamese and also complained that the teacher spoke English incorrectly during English class. His mother talked to teachers at the Foreign Language Center, who, after testing Bin, said that his skills were advanced and he needed to study at an English school in a big city. So she took him to a school in Ho Chi Minh City, where a native English speaker gave the boy a 49-question questionnaire, and he answered every question right. (Oddity Central)
That's One Tough 74-Year-Old
After a fire swept through his senior complex in Washington, DC, leaving his door swollen shut, 74-year-old Raymond Holton waited for help. He waited five days. He was finally found Monday inside his unit at the Arthur Capper Senior Public Housing complex when workers assessing the badly damaged building's structural integrity heard him yelling. Rescue workers had to pry the door open with a crowbar. They found Holton sitting on a sofa, in remarkably good spirits. His cell phone had died and the electricity had been cut off. Council member Charles Allen says the building's management company had assured authorities that all residents were safe and accounted for after the Wednesday fire, which devastated much of the four-story complex. He added, "It's completely unacceptable and inexcusable that there was someone in there for five days and we didn't know about it." Fire officials say Holton, whose unit wasn't near the main part of the fire, was apparently missed during a primary search. They are now reviewing procedures. (NBC 4)
Another Mother of the Year
In Scottsdale, Arizona, 29-year-old mother Alexandra Rose Ciliento decided to go out partying... all night long. Nothing wrong with that- well except that she allegedly left her 4-year-old daughter home alone... all night long. The little girl knocked on a neighbor's door at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and told them her mother wasn't home, according to police. The neighbor told police they waited with the girl for about 45 minutes with no sign of her mother before calling 911. Officers were able to reach Ciliento at 8:20 a.m. after obtaining her number from the child's father. When she returned home, she told the officers she left her apartment at 11 p.m. Saturday for the Scottsdale entertainment district. So now "Miss Party Girl" is facing one felony count of child abuse. (Arizona Central)
Get in a Relationship, Gain Weight! It's the American Way!
Over three out of four Americans in a relationship (79 percent) are carrying around a bit of "love weight," according to new research. A study of 2,000 people in relationships found that the average person had gained 36 pounds since they've first started dating their current partner - 17 pounds of which were gained in the first year alone. Men were also much more likely to report a weight gain during the first year of a relationship than women (69 percent and 45 percent respectively.) The research, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Jenny Craig, found this "love weight" phenomenon is due chiefly to the uptick in dining out when starting a new relationship, with 41 percent of participants citing just that as one reason. An increase in ordering takeout or cooking at home while drinking together was the second biggest reason "love weight" occurs (34 percent). Being comfortable in your relationship and no longer feeling the pressure to look your best all the time was cited as a big reason "love weight" occurs as well, with 64 percent of respondents saying it was a factor in their weight gain. (FOX News)
What the What?
A political candidate in Belgium had to change his name because it because he couldn't campaign politically on Facebook with his real name. Yes, we can see why that would be a problem Mr. Luc Anus. Yep - we're not kidding. Mr. Anus is running for city council in south Belgium, but when someone posted a photo of his election poster online, he decided he would have to change his name. He is now listed as "Luc Anu" on the social media site, with Luc telling local reporters: "Facebook just does not accept my name." Of course Facebook users have been having a field day with the name but the 26-year-old says he is unfazed by the jokes, adding: "I can deal with it." According to data from the Belgian civil registry, there are 49 people with Anus as their last name and they all live in the French-speaking Wallonia region of the country. (Metro)
Get ready to have your mind blown by the latest FBI statistic: If you murder someone in America, there's a nearly 40 percent chance you'll get away with it. Yep - and f you severely assault someone, there's a 50 percent chance. And if you commit any other crime, there's a good chance you'll get away with that, too. A new report by the Federal Bureu of Investigation shows the clearance rate for cases the FBI is trying to solve and the numbers are bad across the board. For murder, the clearance rate is 61.6 percent. For aggravated assault, it's 53.3 percent. For rape, 34.5 percent. For property crimes, it drops below 20 percent. In short, police aren't making arrests for the majority of crimes in this country. It gets worse. In some communities, the clearance rates are even lower. In some of the worst-off communities the clearance rate for murders and nonfatal shootings can fall all the way down to single digits. At least there's a bit of good news. The crime and murder rates fell in 2017, following two years of increases in violent crime and murder in particular. But the clearance rate numbers suggest that there is room for police to improve. In fact, the low clearance rates might be one thing that helps keep crime higher in the US than it would be otherwise. (Vox.com)
My Facebook Job Gave Me PTSD!
Because Facebook needs more problems, now a former Facebook employee is suing the company for allegedly giving her PTSD! Selena Scola says Facebook doesn't do enough to help its approximately 7,500 "content moderators" cope with the stress of being exposed to the worst the internet has to offer, including "child abuse, rape, torture, bestiality, beheadings, suicide, murder, and other forms of extreme violence," according to her lawsuit. Scola, who did the work for about eight months through a contractor, says that she has been formally diagnosed with the disorder, and that even touching a computer mouse or hearing a loud noise can trigger it. A Facebook spokesperson said, "We recognize that this work can often be difficult," adding that the company has helped set industry standards to protect those who do it. The problem is that Facebook "ignores" those standards and "affirmatively requires its content moderators to work under conditions known to cause and exacerbate psychological trauma," per the lawsuit, which seeks class-action status. While the lawsuit might sound far-fetched to anyone unfamiliar with the work, another former moderator says, "Someone could be being graphically beaten in a video, and you could have to watch it a dozen times, sometimes with others present, while you decide whether the victim's actions would count as self-defense or not, or whether the aggressor is the same person who posted the video." Then it's on to the next video. (Motherboard)
Gucci... Being Gucci
Hey Gucci's got a new swimsuit for you. The high-end one-piece features Gucci's iconic logo across the bust, cross-over straps, and has a vintage air to it that will surely turn heads at the pool. Of course all that designer glory doesn't come cheap. It'll set you back a cool $380 - oh, and there's one more thing - you can't swim in it. Yep, it's made of 80 percent nylon and 20 percent elastane, two materials that just don't get along with chlorine. Ironically, Gucci has been very upfront about the whole "swimsuit you can't swim in" thing and folks on social media have been having a field day at their expense. (Oddity Central)
Seriously Weird 5-Year-Old
Over in Vietnam, little 5-year-old Le Nguyen Bao Trung - known to his friends and family as "Bin" has a most puzzling condition. The very first words he ever spoke were in English despite never having come into contact with the language. Today, Bin speaks and reads perfectly in English, but is only just learning Vietnamese so he can communicate with his mother. Doctors have no answers and Bin's mother said she didn't speak any English and he didn't speak Vietnamese, so in the beginning all they had was sign language. Kindergarten was a tough experience, because Bin didn't understand Vietnamese and also complained that the teacher spoke English incorrectly during English class. His mother talked to teachers at the Foreign Language Center, who, after testing Bin, said that his skills were advanced and he needed to study at an English school in a big city. So she took him to a school in Ho Chi Minh City, where a native English speaker gave the boy a 49-question questionnaire, and he answered every question right. (Oddity Central)
That's One Tough 74-Year-Old
After a fire swept through his senior complex in Washington, DC, leaving his door swollen shut, 74-year-old Raymond Holton waited for help. He waited five days. He was finally found Monday inside his unit at the Arthur Capper Senior Public Housing complex when workers assessing the badly damaged building's structural integrity heard him yelling. Rescue workers had to pry the door open with a crowbar. They found Holton sitting on a sofa, in remarkably good spirits. His cell phone had died and the electricity had been cut off. Council member Charles Allen says the building's management company had assured authorities that all residents were safe and accounted for after the Wednesday fire, which devastated much of the four-story complex. He added, "It's completely unacceptable and inexcusable that there was someone in there for five days and we didn't know about it." Fire officials say Holton, whose unit wasn't near the main part of the fire, was apparently missed during a primary search. They are now reviewing procedures. (NBC 4)
Another Mother of the Year
In Scottsdale, Arizona, 29-year-old mother Alexandra Rose Ciliento decided to go out partying... all night long. Nothing wrong with that- well except that she allegedly left her 4-year-old daughter home alone... all night long. The little girl knocked on a neighbor's door at about 6:30 a.m. Sunday and told them her mother wasn't home, according to police. The neighbor told police they waited with the girl for about 45 minutes with no sign of her mother before calling 911. Officers were able to reach Ciliento at 8:20 a.m. after obtaining her number from the child's father. When she returned home, she told the officers she left her apartment at 11 p.m. Saturday for the Scottsdale entertainment district. So now "Miss Party Girl" is facing one felony count of child abuse. (Arizona Central)
Get in a Relationship, Gain Weight! It's the American Way!
Over three out of four Americans in a relationship (79 percent) are carrying around a bit of "love weight," according to new research. A study of 2,000 people in relationships found that the average person had gained 36 pounds since they've first started dating their current partner - 17 pounds of which were gained in the first year alone. Men were also much more likely to report a weight gain during the first year of a relationship than women (69 percent and 45 percent respectively.) The research, conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Jenny Craig, found this "love weight" phenomenon is due chiefly to the uptick in dining out when starting a new relationship, with 41 percent of participants citing just that as one reason. An increase in ordering takeout or cooking at home while drinking together was the second biggest reason "love weight" occurs (34 percent). Being comfortable in your relationship and no longer feeling the pressure to look your best all the time was cited as a big reason "love weight" occurs as well, with 64 percent of respondents saying it was a factor in their weight gain. (FOX News)
What the What?
A political candidate in Belgium had to change his name because it because he couldn't campaign politically on Facebook with his real name. Yes, we can see why that would be a problem Mr. Luc Anus. Yep - we're not kidding. Mr. Anus is running for city council in south Belgium, but when someone posted a photo of his election poster online, he decided he would have to change his name. He is now listed as "Luc Anu" on the social media site, with Luc telling local reporters: "Facebook just does not accept my name." Of course Facebook users have been having a field day with the name but the 26-year-old says he is unfazed by the jokes, adding: "I can deal with it." According to data from the Belgian civil registry, there are 49 people with Anus as their last name and they all live in the French-speaking Wallonia region of the country. (Metro)
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